The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 86 A little annoying

Confidence, Zhang Xiaotian's skill effect doubled in overtime, which also gave him strong confidence.

Confidence comes from strength. Although it is the strength given by skills, it doesn't matter. Zhang Xiaotian needs to win the game, so he will effectively use his own strength and the strength given by skills.

Zhang Xiaotian took a tentative step, Klay Thompson looked serious and concentrated.

Then Zhang Xiaotian pulled directly, the basketball went into the net hollowly, and he turned around calmly.

Popovich yelled inwardly. At the critical moment, it is reasonable to be able to score. Whether it is a strong shot or something, as a coach who has been in the league for many years, he is not pedantic at all.

If Zhang Xiaotian's strength is stable, he can let the team focus on training him now, and let Leonard be Pippen next to Zhang Xiaotian.

But if there is no if, Popovich is even a little worried whether Zhang Xiaotian's convulsion at a critical moment will affect Leonard's growth.

Leonard's character and physical fitness are worth cultivating.

The game was still going on, Barnes went down the pick-and-roll, Curry hit the ground and passed the ball, Barnes caught the ball and went straight to the layup, but was definitely blocked by the help defense.

Zhang Xiaotian took the rebound and launched a counterattack. Curry and Jack, who were in front of them, wanted to close the door, but Zhang Xiaotian forcibly squeezed through. It was a dunk when they went in. At 98:97, the Spurs took the lead again.

The Warriors did not hesitate to attack. Jack made an unreasonable mid-range shot after receiving a pass from Curry, and the Warriors took the lead again.

But then Zhang Xiaotian also hit a three-pointer in a single. At 101:99, the Warriors chose to timeout.

Zhang Xiaotian scored 7 points in overtime, and the Warriors had to make adjustments.

Substitution marks, now they also need to attack, can't switch to the defensive lineup, Warriors coach Mark Jackson can only let Barnes and Klay Thompson switch defenses.

Playing after a timeout, the Warriors wanted to cooperate inside and let David Lee catch the ball inside, but Zhang Xiaotian decisively pinched the ball as soon as the ball passed, which directly caused David Lee to make a mistake.

This time the Spurs are not in a hurry, the time has come to the last 2 minutes, and they started to hit the success rate.

After scoring twice in a row, Ginobili got a chance to hit a three-pointer.

104:99, the Warriors are already standing on the edge of the cliff.

Klay Thompson hit two points with the cover of his teammates at the last moment, but the two points did not help them much at this time, and the Spurs were still pressing time.

In the last few seconds, Parker used the cover to break through and pass the ball to Zhang Xiaotian. Zhang Xiaotian killed the inside to attract the defense and passed the ball to Duncan. Duncan shot and was fouled by the opponent.

At the critical moment, Duncan made two free throws.

When it was the opponent's turn to attack, the Warriors chose to foul after Jack missed a three-pointer.

After Parker made two free throws, Curry forcibly missed a three-pointer. The Spurs beat the Warriors 108:101 and won back-to-back victories in this away game.

"The MVP of the Rookie Tournament showed off his power, and Zhang Xiaotian really deserves his name."

"Both Owen and Zhang Xiaotian exerted their strength, and the victory or defeat of the rookie competition made them even stronger."

After the All-Star Weekend, the Cavaliers had a rare winning streak, and Zhang Xiaotian's miraculous performance in overtime against the Warriors caused heated discussions between the two.

Woolley came out shamelessly to gain popularity again. He, a guy who relies on black people to gain popularity, even wrote an article accusing Zhang Xiaotian of taking Uncle Drew's popularity.

The fans were extremely angry, and many people went to Woolley's social media to curse, saying that they would beat him every time they saw him.

Woolley was so single that he simply asked for leave to seek refuge.

Irving is actually already at the All-Star level, and it's not a pleasure to be praised for being tied to a rookie. However, he is in the limelight now, but he didn't say anything, but said that he wants to lead the team back to the playoffs.

But some people were dissatisfied. Irving's teammate Waiters talked to the reporter, "They are good. They got the opportunity. If I can have the same opportunity, I can do better."

Lillard was also a little upset, "Don't ask me about other people, the best rookie, do you think someone can compete with me, no, it has nothing to do with them, my goal is the All-Star, I can do it."

But envy more players, especially those rookies who want to succeed.

Jimmy Butler of the Bulls made it clear that Zhang Xiaotian is excellent, and he hopes to be able to help the team at critical moments just like Zhang Xiaotian.

Zhang Xiaotian himself is still on an away trip with the team. On February 2, they played away against the Suns.

Parker's rotation this time, without the cooperation of Parker and Duncan at the beginning of the game, the Spurs were taken the lead by the Suns, Marcin Gortat was in good condition, and he succeeded in a row inside.

But when it came time to rotate the lineup, Patrick Mills, who got a chance because of Parker's rest, performed well. Ginobili and Zhang Xiaotian also scored in turn.

For some unknown reason, the last time the Suns showed off their power, Michael Beasley didn't get any chance at all.

Leading by 14 points in the first half, the Spurs played very relaxed and easily continued their winning streak.

This time Zhang Xiaotian scored in double figures in the first three quarters, but unfortunately his opponent was too weak, he didn't play for a few minutes in the fourth quarter, and the expectation of scoring 20 points had to be left to later.

In this regard, the Spurs' away trip after the All-Star Game has also come to an end. They can make good adjustments and will continue to play against the Suns in three days.

The Spurs didn't take it seriously when they played against the Suns at home.

Parker, who had rested, was also in good condition, scoring consecutive points with Duncan at the beginning.

The offense of the Suns is not bad. Dragic and Scola's pick-and-roll effect is very good, but they are back-to-back away games, and the Spurs are not in a hurry.

At halftime, the Spurs led by seven points, as expected.

But I didn't expect that after entering the rotation in the second half, the script suddenly changed.

The Suns' substitute insider, the veteran Jermaine O'Neal, suddenly showed his power, as if he had returned to his youth, scoring and rebounding omnipotently, and even grabbed the frontcourt boards consecutively.

The inside line was originally a hidden danger for the Spurs. The old man O'Neal talked about being a teenager, and with Gortat, the Spurs couldn't even protect the rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, the opponent abandoned Scola and played the tactic of double taper and three shooters.

Popovich immediately became embarrassed, not because he was afraid of the opponent, the twin towers tactics were left over from his play, but defending the two high inside lanes must not be able to play one big and four small ones, so who should play in the backcourt.

Parker must be the core of the backcourt. How should Zhang Xiaotian, Leonard, Ginobili, and Danny Green choose the remaining two positions.

The four have their own characteristics. Zhang Xiaotian often plays miracle shots in the last quarter, Leonard is a young player who is both offensive and defensive, and Ginobili is deeply trusted.

(End of this chapter)